


put another x on the calender.

by strawberryrosewood



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Distance, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, I love these losers, Kinda?, M/M, Misunderstandings, Oneshot, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Projectile Cola Spitting (sfw), Sadness, The Red Army Is Good Actually, Tumblr request, WTFuture, also the calendar by patd slaps wtf, and it actually kinda goes with the fic?? i didnt intend that but hell yeah, edd has green/brown heterochromia but its not reallt mentioned, i think this is the first sfw fic in the eddpaul tag actually, patryck is mentioned for one line bc thats how i roll, paul is blind in one eye, thats. soemthin, the red army
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:27:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25892086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberryrosewood/pseuds/strawberryrosewood
Summary: summers on its deathbed.---originally requested by anon for a writing meme!
Relationships: Edd/Paul (Eddsworld)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 23





	put another x on the calender.

**Author's Note:**

> original prompt:  
> >"what do you mean, you love me?"

Six months, fifteen days, three hours, and twelve minutes.

That’s how long it had been since Edd had finally surrendered to the Red Army, like Matt and Tom once had so many years ago. In hindsight, he almost wished he had done this sooner; years of thinking Tord was banning cola and making him a wanted man out of an urge to hurt him were ultimately, for lack of a better term, idiotic. Tord hadn’t hurt him, or Tom, or Matt, or anyone, for that matter; he had just wanted his friends back, and Edd was too stubborn to realize that until he’d been imprisoned for trying to break the time-space continuum. 

_“I have to admit,” he remembered Tord saying to a soldier- a higher up, if he had to guess. “I may have gone overboard with the whole cola ban thing.”_

_Li_ fe was better under the Red Army, honestly. Tord genuinely seemed to care about the people he was ruling, and Edd had just been too caught up thinking he was running for his life to realize it.

And besides, if he hadn’t joined, he probably never would’ve met _him._

**_──_** **── °∘❉∘° ────**

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Edd asked one afternoon, looking at the slightly nervous, scruffy-looking soldier just to his left. It was three minutes after his shift ended, and frankly, he just wanted to go home. He had been heading towards the exit when this guy (he would’ve read his name tag, but it was upside down, and Edd couldn’t for the life of him figure it out right now) had stopped him, mumbled something out, and completely caught him off guard.

“Oh, uh,” he began, slightly louder this time. His voice sounded rough, his accent hard to place. He was blind in his right eye, and there was a long, gruesome scar along his face there, Edd noticed. “I asked if you were, uh... free tonight.”

Edd blinked, then gave a small chuckle. “Hah, that’s funny. Did Tord offer you a pay raise to do this, orrr-”

“What? No, I’m serious! I’ve, uh, ssseen you around, and you seem really cool and now that you aren’t, y’know..”

“Wanted internationally?”

“Yeah, that!, I was wondering if I could- y’know, actually get to know you.”

At that, Edd paused, giving thought to the idea. Now that he thought about it...

Paul Voorhes. He was a higher up, he recalled; a Captain in the flight department, to be more specific. He’d seen him around a bit, enough to know he liked to joke around a lot, usually at Tord’s expense.

He seemed sweet, and he was clearly being genuine, and it wasn’t like Tord or Tom or Matt were going to visit him with how busy they were these days, so..

“How does seven pm sound?” Edd asked, the corners of his lips twitching upwards when he saw the other’s mismatched eyes light up in response.

“Woah, really? That’s perfect! I’ll, uh, see you then?”

And Edd, turning away to hide the smile on his face as he began to exit, replied, 

“Yeah. See you then.”

**──── °∘❉∘° ────**

A month after that had come and went, and for once, Edd had barely noticed. As Tord and Matt delved more into their respective works and as Tom began to brush Edd off more and more, the one thing Edd had been able to do to keep himself at bay was to count the days, the hours, the minutes as they ticked by. He wondered if that was some kind of hold over from when he was on the run- adding more and more tally marks to a wall in an abandoned, hollowed out building, counting them and beginning to wonder when everything went so, so wrong. Was it when he saw his own face on wanted posters across the country? Was it when Tord had first betrayed his trust? Or had it been farther in the past than that, far enough that Edd was simply doomed from the start?

He thought joining would mean he’d get his friends back. But now that he was with them again, he felt so distant, so detached. Had the army changed them? Or had the world changed Edd, and he simply could no longer connect with the people he held so dearly?

In a way, nothing had changed. But everything was so, so different.

But now, at least being here was a hell of a lot more enjoyable.

Edd had been made a bodyguard to Tord when he joined, which meant he was present for a lot of stuff between higher ups, which in turn meant he could see Paul at least a few times a day.

A small wave. an occasional flash of a smile. A glance in his direction- their eyes meeting occasionally, and subsequently looking away at once, as if to apologize for some sort of infraction that had never existed.

It wasn’t much. But it was enough to know he cared. 

It was enough to take the sting of Tom passing him in the halls, of Tord sometimes jumping because “ _Ah, Edd! I forgot you were still here,”_ of Matt’s forever stern expression blanketing the once wide-eyed, easily excitable friend he once knew.

It was enough to disregard the pain associated with the people he barely knew anymore, because after all,

there was always tonight.

**──** **── °∘❉∘° ────**

Another month passes, and something starts to.. change. It’s slow, but unlike everything else, Edd isn’t left to wonder what went wrong; he’s left to wonder what it means.

He’s at a bar grabbing a drink with Paul, and they’re cracking bad jokes about Tord and telling stories about _before,_ and Edd says something and they’re both sent into fits at once, and Edd is laughing like he never has in years.

And they both start to ease down, and their eyes meet, and they linger there, and Edd feels a strange tug inside his chest. It’s not something he easily recognizes: it’s not the jump of fear at seeing a guard pass him by, or the feeling of isolation as he sees Tord or Matt or Tom, or the little jolt of happiness when he sees Paul in the halls, but its close to something like that.

And just as he starts to think about it, they both look away, and Paul changes the subject, and the moment passes by like nothing.

But it isn’t nothing, and everything keeps piling up from there.

The smiles and glances and the occasional grasp of his hand and the way Paul seems hesitant to leave after some outing after work, all of it makes Edd feel like someone who _matters,_ and not just because he’s wanted internationally or being searched for or because he’s stolen a time machine and is set to make things _right-_ its because someone actually _cares_ about him, past being seen as some sort of danger to Tord’s new world. But..

Why?

He thinks about that first encounter, the way things were worded. He thought that they were just friends; he’d been so happy to just have someone there to laugh at his jokes and not take everything that seriously, but what if he’d misunderstood? What if Paul thought it was _more_ than that?

Why didn’t Edd want anything to change that?

**──── °∘❉∘° ────**

Edd chalks everything up to some kind of crush .

He can’t find a better explanation for it, and he can’t spend forever trying to _no homo_ himself out of this, as much as he’d like to. It’s a crush, plain and simple, and it’ll go away before anything can come from it, and he’s overthinking _all_ of this, and that’s that.

He doesn’t give much thought to it after that- frankly, he doesn't _want_ to- and that’s okay, because Paul brings it up again for him in the bluntest way possible.

It’s a bright day in August- three months into the army, and two months after meeting Paul- and the weather is awful. It’s hot and blistering and humid, and he hates the stupid thick, cyanic blue trench coat he has to wear, and he guesses that his discomfort is clear, because midway through a meeting, Paul slips away, taps Edd on the shoulder, and says, “Make it look like you’re in trouble.”

And after following Paul through semi-crowded hallways, doing his best to keep his head down and seem worried about whatever the hell was going on, he’s led into an empty little sideroom that he doesn’t exactly recognize. On the walls hang dozens of kinds of guns, handheld cannons, blades and bats and everything in between, and he vaguely remembers something from his first day.

In case of emergency, there are rooms full of weaponry that are free to use to everyone. That way, the army is never under-equipped for invasions, break-ins, and other such emergencies.

But usually, those rooms were.. larger. Why was this one so small?

And why the _hell_ had he been brought here? 

“Uh.. Paul, what-?”

Edd watches on as the other grabs onto a gun, presses it against the wall in its spot, and-

_Click._

_Th_ e panels in the walls split apart and open up, and Edd’s green-brown eyes light up at once. I mean, he _guessed_ it made sense; being a higher up probably also meant knowing all the cool, scooby doo-esque hidden entrances in the base.

He expects a bigger, better armory, or perhaps a cola reserve, considering the former ban and the fact that Paul had dragged him out here, but it’s way better than any of that.

It’s a breakroom.

With _air conditioning._

**_──_** **── °∘❉∘° ────**

Edd watches the wall seamlessly close behind him, and he turns just in time to see Paul call his name and toss him a cola, the chill of its surface a welcome feeling after burning to death in that conference room.

He flops down on a slightly springy couch, and watches as Paul takes a seat on the arm of an adjacent chair, lighting a cigarette as usual, and he decides to finally get some clarification.

“So.. are you going to explain why I’m in this.. secret breakroom?”

And Paul hesitates, and Edd can’t help but smile a little at the thought that he’s _just now_ realizing that this all seems _kinda weird_ out of context.

“Oh, right, well.. first of all, welcome to one of the secret rooms in the base, i guess. Red has these _everywhere.”_

“Surprising,” Edd replied, cracking open his soda. “So.. why are we in here?”

“..Well,” Paul began, “because you looked like you were a few hours away from passing out, Edd. Those conference rooms can have the _worst_ AC- especially from where you were standing. I wasn’t just going to let you stand there and suffer heatstroke for the next hour. Besides, I’m pretty sure Tord can take care of himself without you at his side, right?”

Edd doesn’t answer, but judging by the last few months, he knows its more correct that Paul realizes.

“That’s.. really nice of you, actually. You didn’t have to do that,” Edd replies, turning away to take a long sip of his drink.

“Well, yeah, but.. like I said, I wasn’t going to let you suffer. I do love you, after all.”

And at that, Edd then proceeded to choke on his drink and spit it out like the world’s worst spray bottle.

“Oh, _shit!_ ” Paul uttered with an unceremonious laugh, getting to his feet and handing Edd a roll of paper towels while he proceeded to hack and cough and wheeze all the while.

“ _What--”_ he managed out, “--the _fuck-”_

“Edd, it’s fine! It’s not a big deal, worst accidents have happened here. I’m pretty sure the cleaning bots will be here sometime soon-”

“That’s not- oh, fucking hell-” he cleared his throat. “-that’t not what I’m concerned about, I-”

“Oh! Was there something wrong with your drink? I can go get you another one, if that’s-”

“ _Paul,_ no, that’s-”

“Oh no, was it the smoking?” He asked, leaning over to snuff out his cigarette in a nearby ashtray. “Usually the ventilation is super good about that, but if you have asthma I can deal with it- funny story, actually, my old copilot used to--”

“Paul, will you just- stop, for a second?”

And Paul does. He stops completely, and he backs away as if realizing he stepped over the line somehow.

“Just- fuck, I didn’t expect.. christ, I just- Paul?”

He hesitates, unsure of what to really say. “Y- yeah?”

“What do you _mean,”_ Edd asks, finally turning to face him, “you love me?”

Paul pauses, and he lightens up a little at that. “I mean... I love you? We’ve been dating for two months now.”

“Two mo- two _months?”_

_“Er, yeah?”_ Paul replied, mimicking Edd’s tone. “I asked you out and you said yes, and we’ve been going out for two months. I just thought you were like, not that affectionate, and I didn’t want to bring it up or anything-”

“I thought we were just friends,” Edd replies, and his heart sinks when he sees Paul stop, his expression falter as he meets the other’s eyes. Edd sees nothing there but pure heartbreak. 

“Oh,” Paul replies. It sounds like he’s going to say something important after that. He doesn’t.

“Well. If.. If anyone asks where you are, I’ll say I needed your help with something. I’m...”

He trails off, and he heads to the door, and the panels in the walls start to split open again...

And then Edd gets up, and he grabs Paul’s wrist before he can go. When he turns to look at him, it’s a look he recognizes as, ‘ _just let me go. I’ve already messed up enough here.’_ It’s a look that shakes him to the core, a look that makes him think, _even after I say this, I’m never going to forgive myself for making him feel like that._

_“_ Paul,” Edd begins, his nervousness shining through a bit. “Y- You know I didn’t say I wanted us to _stay_ friends, right?..”

And again, Paul pauses.

And then he starts to smile. “Are you just saying that to make me feel better?”

“Well, geez, I sure hope not,” Edd replies sarcastically, “otherwise I’ve been crushing on you for the past two months for no reason.”

**──── °∘❉∘° ────**

Six months, fifteen days, three hours, and twelve minutes.

It’s how long Edd’s been in the army. It’s how long since he stopped running for his life every day.

And six months, fifteen days in is when Tom grins at him for the first time in a while and says, _“hey, you doing okay? I know we’ve all been busy, but...”_

It’s when Matt says, _“Hey, Edd, you free this afternoon?”_ and Edd replies, _“yeah, but can I bring someone along?”_

It’s when, sun setting overhead after work, the five of them all strolling through the bustling city, whispers following them everywhere they go because there _must_ be something important going on if Red Leader’s here, that Tord drags behind them all and stands at Edd’s side and only half-sarcastically says, _“you seem great with Paul, by the way.”_

When he gives Tord a playful shove, he realizes he doesn’t hold it against him, and he doesn’t say anything to the onlookers who snicker at the sight. He laughs with Edd, and gives him a shove back, and runs back up to Tom and Matt once more.

It’s when Edd joins them, and grabs Paul’s hand, and looks at his friends, that he finally decides that he’s happy.

It’s been six months, fifteen days, three hours, and twelve minutes since Edd joined the army, and it’s the exact moment when he decides to stop keeping track.


End file.
